Newcastle boss Alan Tait praised hat-trick hero Greg Goosen after the 33-3 LV= Cup win over Cardiff Blues.
Defensive effort against Blues delights Falcons boss
Newcastle head coach Alan Tait hailed Greg Goosen as a "class act" after the full-back grabbed a hat-trick of tries in the 33-3 win over Cardiff.
South African Goosen scored three of his side's five tries as last season's beaten finalists proved fat too strong for the Blues at Kingston Park.
The triumph in their opening Pool 3 clash in the LV= Cup was a welcome boost for Tait after seeing his team taste success in just one of their opening six games in the Aviva Premiership.
"Greg's a class act. He's been a class act since he came here, but it also makes a difference we have a player of the quality of Corne Uys in the centre as well," Tait said.
"Scoring tries is what we're trying to achieve and also not conceding is what it's about and we did that and what was also pleasing was the way we went about our business."
Early bonus
Newcastle had few problems brushing aside a depleted Cardiff, Goosen completing his hat-trick and the try-scoring bonus point in the 51st minute.
They had led 19-0 lead at the end of the opening half and the only points the visitors mustered came courtesy of a Rhys Patchell penalty in the 54th minute.
While the attacking display delighted Tait, he was equally pleased by his side's efforts in defence.
"It's always nice to keep the other side out and we were screaming at them at end not to give it up when Cardiff had us under pressure," he said.
"I've congratulated the lads on that because we were in a bit of a no-win situation. They were a young, stuffy side and they were under no pressure and relaxed which can be quite dangerous while we were looking for a really good performance.
"So it is pleasing to get that sort of performance although we did have a five to 10 minutes period in the second half when we fell off the standard and had what we call our mad moments when people swan off and do their own thing and don't stick to the plan."
